Writing tips

That v. Which

5/6/2021

That v. Which is a constant issue in editing. This article explains the difference. The key though is not to precede either that or which with a comma. The comma indicates a non-restrictive clause. This type of clause should be rare in a formal paper. Typically I delete the comma and maybe you wonder why. The article will help.
Which vs. That: Correct Usage | Merriam-Webster

Possessives

6/5/2020

For some reason, academics and journals frown on using possessives. I don't understand it myself. For journals, I think it is to eliminate apostrophes to save space. What is funny about that is to avoid them more words are typically used, or meaning is lost due to tortured strings of nouns. The possessive case is very useful and can improve your writing. Here is a good article on its types of use:
https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/blog/2020/06/a-guide-to-double-possessives/

Apostrophes

12/7/2019

Here is a fun article I posted on LinkedIn:
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/apostrophe-society-shuts-down-because-ignorance-has-won-a4301391.html

Colons

9/24/2019

In academic writing I see mostly commas that are being used to accomplish much more than they are designed for. One option is to use a colon. This link is to an article that gives a overview of colon use. Punctuation can be used to enliven your text more effectively than verbosity.
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/blog/2019/09/a-guide-to-using-colons/

Checklist for journal articles

7/13/2019

The link below goes to a checklist and advice on the steps needed to successfully submit your article. The checklist comes from the website of the Journal of Financial Economics. I though both young and old might find it useful.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oMzJppG-7eg-z0Fj2laJObvcrj6HgDWI

Wordiness

6/7/2019

One of my jobs as a copyeditor is to weed out the wordiness in a paper. This article explains one form of wordiness that surrounds verbs. Another form is adding unneeded words to embellish another. An example is the word "activity." Risk-taking is an activity so saying risk-taking activity is wordy. Another very common add-on is "behavior." Risk-taking is a behavior and does not need to be labelled as such. Part of the problem here is the word order. The real phrase is that someone "is taking a risk." In this word order it becomes clearer that the activity is the taking of risk and if done frequently is a behavior that a person exhibits.
Here is the link to the article:
https://aceseditors.org/news/2019/clamp-down-on-unhelping-verbs

Dangling participles

3/22/2019

A common problem in academic writing is long introductory clauses. Stylistically, these tend to be repetitive and to be used as brief summaries that are really needed and can confuse. That is particularly true when they create danglers, which are grammatically incorrect.
Here is an explantion of the problem from The Chicago Manuel of Style:
5.115: Dangling participles Chapter Contents / Grammar / Verbs / Participles and Gerunds Both participles and gerunds are subject to dangling. A participle that has no syntactic relationship with the nearest subject is called a dangling participleor just a dangler. In effect, the participle ceases to function as a modifier and functions as a kind of preposition. Often the sentence is illogical, ambiguous, or even incoherent, as in Frequently used in early America, experts suggest that shaming is an effective punishment (used does not modify the closest noun, experts; it modifies shaming), or Being a thoughtful mother, I believe Meg gives her children good advice (the writer at first seems to be attesting to his or her own thoughtfulness rather than Meg’s). Recasting the sentence so that the misplaced modifier is associated with the correct noun is the only effective cure {experts suggest that shaming, often used in early America, is an effective punishment}. But rewording to avoid the participle or gerund may be preferable {I believe that because Meg is a thoughtful mother, she gives her children good advice}. Using passive voice in an independent clause can also produce a dangler. In Finding that the questions were not ambiguous, the exam grades were not changed, the participle finding“dangles” because there is no logical subject to do the finding. The sentence can be corrected by using active voice instead of passive, so that the participle precedes the noun it modifies {finding that the questions were not ambiguous, the teacher did not change the exam grades}. Quite often writers will use it or there as the subject of the independent clause after a participial phrase, thereby producing a dangler without a logical subject, as in Reviewing the suggestions, it is clear that no consensus exists. (A possible revision: Our review of the suggestions shows that no consensus exists.)

Plain writing

11/5/2018

Editing in academia is a challenge. On the one hand, there is the need for jargon specific to the discipline. On the other, there is a need to make the writing easy to understand and to read. For example, many academics like to use long introductory phrases to explain why they are going to take the action at the end of the sentence. For the reader, this technique is laborious and can lead to rereading the sentence. There is also a tendency to add layers of redundancy; for example, "The firm value is related to firm profits that are the result of firm performance." This is a tough sentence to read. The English language allows this sentence to be simplified: "The firm's value is related to its profits that result from its performance." Now, the sentence is concise and has the same meaning.
Here is a short video on this topic: https://youtu.be/JT0U94349Hc

Writing tip - Parallelism

6/2/2018

A lack of parallelism is a problem I see in academic writing all the time. It often happens when authors try to combine two separate thoughts in one sentence. One solution is to create two short sentences, one for each thought. Another is to rework the sentence. In both the trouble for an editor is to pick the correct meaning, which because of the lack of parallelism can be tough.
Here is a brief article from the MLA style guide:
https://style.mla.org/parallelism/

A writer's perspective

3/18/2018

Here is a writer's perspective on the need for plain language. She is funny but offers some good advice. E.g., using power point as a way to outline your paper.
www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6381189342508961792